ANC welcomes the finalisation of agreements on labour stability and a National Minimum Wage

13 February 2017

The ANC in Parliament welcomes the agreements reached by representatives of government, business, the community sector and two of the three labour federations represented at Nedlac on the national minimum wage and labour stability.

These agreements are as a result of a call made by President Jacob Zuma in June 2014 for the social partners to deliberate on the state of the labour relations environment, and to address low wages, wage inequality and protracted strikes.

The social partners agreed on a National Minimum Wage of R20 an hour to be implemented and enforced from no later than 1 May 2018. They also adopted a Code of Good Practice on Collective Bargaining, Industrial Action and Picketing as well as an Accord on Collective Bargaining, and agreed to several amendments to the Labour Relations Act.

The agreement on the National Minimum Wage will go a long way in protecting millions of vulnerable workers who have been earning far below R20 an hour or R3,500 for those working 40 hours per week and about R3,900 for those who work for 45 hours per week.

Although the National Minimum wage is not a living wage, it does however establish wage floors below which no employers are permitted to pay the employees covered. The National Minimum Wage will cover about 75% of agricultural workers who earn below R2,000 and about 90% of domestic workers who earn below R3,120 per month to name a few examples. This represents a significant advance although we still have a long way to go in ensuring that all working South Africans earn a living wage.

As the ANC in Parliament, we will work together with the executive and the social partners on ensuring that the National Minimum Wage Bill and related legislative amendments are passed by Parliament. We will also ensure that we monitor the implementation of these agreements and hold the executive to account in the interest of the workers of South Africa.

Issued by Nonceba Mhlauli, Media Liaison Officer, ANC Parliamentary Caucus, 13 February 2017